It’s a new year and that tired-looking room in your home, that jacket you never wear, or those old pieces of jewelry collecting dust might make you think, “What can I do to freshen this up and get some use out of it?”
Or maybe you want to do something crafty and artistic, but have no idea what that would be.
You just might find inspiration and ideas at the Craft and Hobby Association’s Craft SuperShow at Anaheim Convention Center today and Saturday.
The event will be star-studded with celebrities that include local artist Wyland, “Inside Edition” host Deborah Norville, and superstar crafter Terri O.
Norville, the Emmy award-winning journalist and anchor of “Inside Edition,” is passionate about knitting. She’s written a book on the subject, “Knit with Deborah Norville,” and launched her own yarn line – Serenity from the Deborah Norville Collection – on premieryarns.com.
Knitting is second nature to her.
“My parents owned a textile company and they would bring my sisters and me to the office,” Norville said. “To keep us busy they’d give us scraps of materials for us to make up our own creations. My mom and grandma were knitters. I mastered the art when I was 8. I recently found my very first project – a stole that I made for my Barbie!”
She credits knitting and sewing for helping put her through college and for the professional looking attire she created when she started her TV career.
“I’ll be at the SuperShow Theatre and the Premier Yarns booth on Saturday. Come on over and let’s do some knitting together!”
Emmy award-winning TV personality Terri O (terriocraftprojects.com) is spokesperson for the Craft and Hobby Association and talked about the latest trends for adults and children.
She said the industry is seeing the fusion of computer applications with materials from stores, such as in card making.
“Almost everyone has pictures stored on their computers, card companies have e-cards and printable projects, and our hobby and craft stores have iron-on forms, art papers, beading, ribbons and all kinds of bling to add to them and so many other projects,” she said. “The other day my own son, who’s 13, took a picture of himself and altered it to give it an Andy Warhol look. I took it and used one of the iron-on kits for the computer and created a T-shirt for him.”
She said the two biggest trends in the hobby and craft world for the coming year will be re-purposing – looking into your closet to see what can be updated or embellished – and sewing.
“Classes are full,” she said about the resurgence of sewing. “Teens and young women are looking for ways to personalize their clothes and save money. Things are truly coming full circle.”
Tall Mouse owner Jim Bremer said classes at all his stores are becoming increasingly full. Moms and daughters, sisters, grandparents and grandkids are signing up together for classes on purse-making, sewing and knitting.
“Our kids’ classes usually take place during school breaks, but we’re seeing teens signing up for our afterschool and weekend spots,” Bremer said. “We’re seeing a lot of requests for classes that have what we call practical uses in mind.”
Retro crafts are hot, too, Terri O said. “Remember those Holly Hobby boxes? They’re back! Along with moms taking their kids on walks and collecting leaves and creating jewelry boxes.”
Another trend: swapping parties. Craft lovers are getting together and bringing items that they don’t like, can’t use or bought too much of and recycling it.
“It’s the craft community’s way of lowering their carbon footprint,” she said.
The Craft Super Show will be stocked with “make and take” booths – all first-come, first-served with paid entrance. There will be a special kids zone craft area for children under 10, who get into the craft show free and aren’t eligible for the make-and-take booths.
And there will be a “mantastic” area just for guys. No reason why anyone in the family should miss out on the fun.
Pre-registration, discount coupons, class registration and ticket purchase are available at CraftSuperShow.com.